Volition: What is our one area of equality?
I know it can be argued that there are others, but this is a subject that is extremely important. This all started at the time of God’s creation of man in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:15-17
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
It was in the Garden of Eden that God provided a test for man and the use of the volition, the free will He gave him.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 BUT of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [Emphasis added]
Yes, it was by this tree that the free will, the volition God gave to man, was tested. Man was given of God the freedom to choose, to freely make all his own decisions independently of God. Did man retain this ability after his fall into sin? Most people who believe in what is called Reformed Theology and Calvinism would claim that he did not. Instead, they believe that man’s every decision, both good and bad, is now pre-determined by God. Is this what the Bible teaches us? If it does, how is it that someone can be held accountable for their decisions since they weren’t really the ones who freely made them in the first place? Instead, they were CAUSED of God to make them? What is sometimes called causal determinism is the idea that all events, including human actions, are determined by prior causes of God and are, therefore, inevitable. But if causal determinism is true, it undermines the possibility of free will, as our actions would all be predetermined of God and we would have no control over them at all. Does the Bible, our primary source of truth, teach this? How can such a teaching be true when there are so many passages of Scripture that teach us otherwise? If this theory is true, what would be the point of Scripture saying we have options in any of our decision-making? If man doesn’t have “options” in his decision-making, he then isn’t free to choose. Is he? However, the Bible plainly tells us man was given “options” before he ever sinned when he was still living in the Garden of Eden. The Bible gives us the record of that.
Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [Emphasis added]
We are also told in the Bible that man still has such options AFTER his fall into sin. If he doesn’t, commands such as this next one I’ll mention become meaningless. That’s because it is then God who really makes all the choices, not man.
Joshua 24:14-16
14 Now therefore FEAR the Lord, and SERVE him in sincerity and in truth: and PUT AWAY the gods which YOUR FATHERS SERVED on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve YE the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to [choose to] serve the Lord, CHOOSE you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that WE should FORSASKE the Lord, to [choose to] serve other gods; [Emphasis added]
How pointless all this would be if man’s decisions were all being made for him! What would be the point of the commands and, furthermore, how could God hold him responsible and accountable for decisions he did not make?
Even our English word responsible tells us we are response able or able to respond. Time and time again the Bible says WE ARE responsible and, therefore, WE are held accountable for OUR decisions.
Galatians 6:7-8
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever A MAN soweth, that shall HE also reap.
8 For HE that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but HE that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. [Emphasis added]
Yes, WE are responsible for OUR decisions. But under the false teaching of Calvinism and Reformed Theology the blame for sin is shifted to God. But note what God told Adam and Eve—
Genesis 3:11-13
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
From this point on we see many trying to blame God for decisions they themselves made.
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that THOU hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. [Emphasis added]
Please note man’s desire to shift the blame as if it was ultimately God’s fault that the sin occurred. Man has been shirking this responsibility one way or another ever since then. Today he does it even through “religious” people such as those called Calvinists or who are said to be “reformed” in their theology. But, again, what is the point of all these commands for people to exercise THEIR volition one way or another if they really don’t have the free will to do it?
Philippians 4:8-9
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Isn’t this an appeal to us to exercise our volition in a certain way? Doesn’t this show that man can choose one of two ways to go on this? Doesn’t this mean that God designed man so that he would have options in how he exercised HIS volition?
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. [Emphasis added]
Time and time again we see that we’re given commands in the Bible that are addressed to us. Simple common sense says there’s no way we could be rightfully or justly held accountable for these things if we’re somehow caused or made to do them. Certain groups tell us that because we know God is just and fair we just must accept these obvious contradictions as ones that are true. But, NO, we don’t have to accept such things! Who made such a rule? This is NOT true! It would be a violation of what’s right and true to accept such thinking. Man is held responsible for his decisions because God has given him the freedom to make any decision he chooses about such things. Of course, God didn’t have to make man this way, but He did!
FREE will is something every member of the human race has been given of God. Adherents of “Calvinism” and “Reformed Theology” tend to speak out of both sides of their mouth about this, saying man has free will but he doesn’t have free will. They may claim otherwise, but I sat in class in and graduated from one of their seminaries and that’s exactly what they taught. The claim was that we must just accept these teachings that “seem” contradictory but somehow are not. NO! The reality is that they ARE contradictory, and they don’t have to be accepted. Man has free will! He’s been given of God the ability to decide for himself. Man was given that freedom before his fall, and he still has it. He is response-able—he is responsible for his decisions. In his rebellion against God, he can disobey every command God has given him.
Romans 2:5-8
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
This is clearly telling us that God holds man responsible for HIS decisions.
6 Who will render to every man according to HIS deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, [Emphasis added]
This is true in both salvation and the rewards believers will receive in eternity.
1 Corinthians 3:12-14
12 Now if any MAN build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every MAN’S work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14 If any MAN’S work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. It is true that it is God alone who saves people, but all mankind has been granted the privilege of choosing or rejecting the provision God has made for him. [Emphasis added]
2 Timothy 2:20-22
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge HIMSELF from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. [Emphasis added]
These commands to us are meaningless if it is actually God who does all the deciding for us. For more information about all this, please see my articles and videos about it on this website. Here are links to some of the many articles—
Calvinism: What is it all about?
Calvinism: Is it a false teaching?
Calvinism: Does God love all mankind?
Calvinism: Who decides who is going to Heaven?
Calvinists: Can they honestly present the gospel message?
This is such an important subject that I’ve written many other articles about it that are readily available to you on this website. Here are links to some of them—
Ephesians 2:8: Is it salvation or faith that is the gift of God?
Predestination: Does God predetermine who’s going to hell?
Hell: Are there people there for whom Christ died?
Election: What should we believe about this?
Faith: Is it meritorious for salvation?
Jesus Christ: For whom did He die?
I even have other articles about man’s volition on this website—
Volition: Does man have free will? Part 1
Volition: Does man have free will? Part 2
I’ve provided all of this information because of the extreme importance of this subject. I hope and pray you will find it helpful as you decide what to believe about this. Having volition, the ability to choose is somethings God has graciously granted to us all. This gives us ALL the freedom to choose our eternal future. For most information about that, please see my article about it. Here’s the link to it—
Salvation: What about those who have never heard the gospel?
